Get dispensaries up and running

Gov. Chris Christie is relying on his instincts as an ex-prosecutor to end his technical wrangling that’s delayed implementation of the state’s medical marijuana law.

Christie asked the Obama administration in April to say it wouldn’t prosecute anyone, including state personnel and dispensary workers, for administering the compassionate-use law. It was a reasonable request, but a late one, since the law has been on the books since January 2010.

The feds refused any guarantee, since marijuana remains illegal under federal law. Christie nonetheless surmised Tuesday that federal agents wouldn’t enforce the federal statutes because their limited budgets would be better spent chasing bad guys than going after chronically ill people who need to relieve symptoms and side-effects of other medical treatments.

The U.S. Justice Department did issue a memo last month suggesting, but not specifically stating, that it would lay off unless a medical marijuana law — 16 states now have them — significantly raised the scope of commercial sales. With tight regulation on who can sign up to purchase marijuana legally, and only six initial sales venues, there’s no chance that will happen in New Jersey.

Sufferers can now look toward relief, even if it’s odd for Christie, a former U.S. attorney for New Jersey, to kind of root for federal agents to have insufficient funds to enforce a law.

Opening the dispensaries is long overdue, and all New Jerseyans should be glad the governor is finally on board. Once they get their grow lights going, dispensaries estimate their marijuana will be available by Thanksgiving.

The state should ensure geographic balance in the initial sites, whose operators were chosen months ago. Compassionate Care Foundation Inc. is supposed to have a Burlington County site, but stopped its search for one while the law was on hold. There was some push-back from Bellmawr officials in March when one group said its clinic might be located there.

Other than those, the southernmost dispensaries would be in New Brunswick and Manalapan (Monmouth County). After waiting so long for legal relief, that would be too far too ask qualified South Jerseyans to drive.